In July (2000)

A young, insecure teacher embarks on a journey through Europe to Turkey, where he wants to see a woman again whom he believes to be his fate.

Director:

Fatih Akin

Writer:

Fatih Akin

Stars:

Moritz Bleibtreu, Christiane Paul, Mehmet Kurtulus

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Moritz Bleibtreu	...	Daniel Bannier
Christiane Paul	...	Juli
Mehmet Kurtulus	...	Isa
Idil Üner	...	Melek
Jochen Nickel	...	Leo
Branka Katic	...	Luna
Birol Ünel	...	Kellner
Sandra Borgmann	...	Marion
Ernest Hausmann	...	Kodjo
Gábor Salinger	...	Marktverkäufer
Cem Akin	...	Türkischer Grenzbeamter
Fatih Akin	...	Rumänischer Grenzbeamter
Nina Lauterbach	...	Kira
Linda Wagener	...	Anette
Hans Daglioglu	...	Ernie

Storyline

Daniel is a young teacher in-spe, who in contrast to everyone else plans to stay in Hamburg for the summer. Juli, a girl at the flea-market, wants to get known to Daniel and manages to sell him a Mayan ring with a sun on it, foretelling him that he will meet a girl with a sun. One day later Daniel is already on his way across Europe. It seems the prophecy came true somehow.

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Plot Keywords:

rowboat | theft | border crossing | hitchhiker | cigarette smoking | 

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Taglines:

Im Herz, im Bauch, im Juli.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The moment when Daniel sees Melek for the first time, the walking scene is shot reverse for Melek and played backwards to make a more charming introduction.

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Goofs

When being stopped at the Turkish side of the border Isa and Daniel should have crossed the Bulgarian check point already which should have required the missing Daniel's passport.

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Quotes

Daniel Bannier: [stealing a car] You know what you're doing, don't you?
Juli: [nods]
Daniel Bannier: You got it?
[Juli pulls out a camera and takes a picture of him]
Daniel Bannier: What are you doing?
Juli: It was here.
Daniel Bannier: Hurry up, damn it!
[Juli tries to start the noise and the car makes bad noises]
Daniel Bannier: Hey! Are you crazy you're going to break everything!
Juli: Trust me, ok?
[...]

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Connections

References A Trip to the Moon (1902)

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Soundtracks

Istanbul Twilight
Performed by Brooklyn Funk Essentials featuring Laco Tayfa (as Laço Tayfa)
Music composed by Bob Brockman (as Bob Brockmann), Lati Kronlund and Brooklyn Funk Essentials

User Reviews

Light and funny yet deep and charming - an original movie you shouldn't miss!

What I found special about the "Im Juli" is that, although the story feels like a fantasy, the characters are very warm and real. All those meetings and coincidences looked a little unbelievable first time, but now I think everything makes sense if we see the story as an allegory…meaningful but at the same time light and funny.

The playfulness of the script might perhaps make some miss the message of the movie, but the message actually is there and is a strong one. As I see it, "Im Juli" is a story about hope and about finding life and happiness. Searching for the one meant for you in furthest places to realise that what you've been searching for was right next to you all along.

I liked the idea of the first part of the movie being a flashback until we get back to the sun eclipse we had seen at the beginning. After the sun comes out again it looks like dark gets out of Daniel's mind and the sun shows him the right way this time: that Juli was the one he had been searching all along. The whole journey changes Daniel incredibly much as with her sun amulet, Juli learns him to do the same as her: trust faith and go on searching for happiness. The ending was really perfect: all the 4 characters' roads coming together and Daniel finally seeing the ultimate proof that he had found what he was looking for.

What I enjoyed about the movie is that although the message is a serious one, the story is so light and everything goes on really fast and surprising. The whole journey through so many different countries and passing beside so many different people and cultures was really interesting and refreshing, as were all the characters in the movie. All the actors, playing the Turkish guy, Luna or the officer at the Romanian border, looked they were really enjoying their roles and brought most of the movie's humour: great, subtle and nothing Hollywood like.

All in all, I thought it was a really enjoyable movie, so different from the usual productions we get from Hollywood. Really a movie you shouldn't miss!

Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German English Turkish Bulgarian Serbo-Croatian Romanian

Release Date:

24 August 2000 (Germany)

Also Known As:

In July

Filming Locations:

Hungary

Box Office

Budget:

DEM5,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$34,245

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wüste Film, Filmförderung Hamburg, FFF Bayern

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1